


I dreamt of that sound

by risinggreatness



Series: Circle 'round the sun [14]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-18 08:30:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2341769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risinggreatness/pseuds/risinggreatness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ahsoka finds her place with Luke, Leia, and Han and returns to Coruscant for the first time since the downfall of the Republic</p>
            </blockquote>





	I dreamt of that sound

Peace does not come easy.

Ahsoka’s life is shaped by war. She wore battle too easily as a child; violence became heavy later, but was instinct. Once-real phantoms no longer stalk her. It is unnerving.

No, peace is not easy: an irony.

Despite this, she falls in with her new circle effortlessly. She and Luke reach out to the Jedi she knows still live and the odd clone trooper. This raises eyebrows, but she doesn’t care. Not all of them carried out the order; they served as valiantly as Jedi.

He tries meditation: an old habit she hasn’t practiced in years. ( _She ought to try again._ ) She asks him why.

“Master Yoda advised it.”

He is diligent, but she knows he thinks there are more practical things to be done. Far be it for anyone to contradict Master Yoda, even in death.

Leia joins him occasionally, but is more comfortable with diplomatic work. There are systems to bring into the New Republic. Senators and representatives of planets who didn’t openly support the Alliance would be hesitant, but they remember Bail Organa’s daughter.

Han and Chewbacca continue smuggling, but now it’s relief supplies and refugees, not Hutt cargo. 3PO goes with them and serves his purpose. Han grumbles, but secretly considers 3PO’s chatter as much a part of the Falcon’s creaking metal.

They all come together for that piece of garbage; tinkering away when they have time. Ahsoka tells them time and time again they’d be better off with something newer.

R2 chirps sarcastically at her: she wouldn’t have half as much fun if the project was easier.

As they reroute wiring and replace parts, the atmosphere is light. They remember past adventures, ones that usually involved a minor meltdown, with everyone surviving in the end. Ahsoka remains silent. She is just content to be there.

She’s heard their (varying) accounts on rescuing Leia so many times; it’s become a bit boring. Luke and Leia debate the effectiveness of the garbage shoot as an escape route.

“Something tried to drown me!”

“Stormtroopers were shooting at us and Han wasn’t going to talk us out of there! Certainly not shoot us out.”

“HEY.”

Ahsoka butts in, “Your dad and I used once gas lines for a prison break.”

Heads whip around. Luke and Leia look at her with anticipation and with eagerness. She has countless stories they want and she is still afraid to share.

“Well, it wasn’t just us. There was Rex, a handful of other troopers and clones, and –” oh _crap_ , “Wilhuff Tarkin.”

There was a _different_ reason for not sharing.

Leia makes an odd noise like a soft snarl, but says nothing.

Ahsoka knows blaming herself for not taking action against people like Tarkin back then is pointless. Still, it hurts.

They return to their work.

\----------

A few days later, Leia announces they need to return to Coruscant. It was inevitable.

Han is indignant. “We?”

“ _I_ need to – Senate business – but I would like it if everyone came.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about it. My record there isn’t great.”

“Your record isn’t great anywhere. Besides, that was the Empire, we were all their most wanted. It doesn’t matter now – we’re in charge.”

“That’s worse.”

They laugh, but Ahsoka feels sick to her stomach. Coruscant was her life once, but it became the nightmare she forced herself to bury years ago. She has seen more than her share of horrors, nothing like the night she met Vader. The nightmare ends two ways: joining him or death, infinitely preferable.

 _Vader_. Luke says Obi-Wan lied to him about Anakin, about Vader. Luke says ‘lied;’ Ahsoka hears ‘coped.’ If Obi-Wan coped and saw them as separate, so could she. She would make sure Anakin’s children do too.

 _Lied_. Obi-Wan always did talk his way out of uncomfortable situations.

Coruscant will reopen healing wounds. She is not sure she wants to go. What Luke says doesn’t help.

“I’d like to see what remains of the Temple.”

He looks at her cautiously, searching for approval. If only their host of ghosts would council them. They remain maddeningly silent.

“I’ll need to back eventually anyway.”

She braces herself for impact.

\----------

Everything about Coruscant feels the same and different. It is at once more glittering and more grimy than it was twenty-four years ago: the work of empire.

Luke marvels, “I never imagined it was this big.”

It is the antithesis of his childhood: crowded, an obscured horizon, binary moons.

The rest of the Falcon is less fazed by it. They know the terrain and simply need to adjust from smaller spaces.

The senate building looms as largely, as it always did. The swarms of senators, aides, diplomats, and all manner of other politicians are missing, making the halls curiously silent. It hasn’t been very long since the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, but it looks as if it was never used.

The chamber is reoutfitted: the number of seats is reduced. More systems were in the Empire than the Republic, but less had their say. It is befitting for a senate of law and order, not of justice and equality.

When she first learned Leia served a government that went against everything her parents fought for, Ahsoka balked. But Bail Organa needed a cover for the Alliance and desperate times call for desperate measures.

The old Chancellor’s seat is far more elaborate.

“The Emperor rarely came when we were in session. He’d send moffs usually – Vader, if the occasion called for it.”

“It should have been a sign,” Ahsoka says dryly.

“What should have been?” asks Luke.

“A Jedi, interested in politics? We’re supposed to be impartial. Your dad _hated_ sitting still, but he managed to watch some votes… usually when your mom was involved.”

She swears she can hear Anakin laughing ( _such an alien sound_ ). She can see now how he was always kind of an idiot about Padmé. Her eyes fall on Naboo’s old delegation box.

Leia sighs, “The damage has been done and there’s still so much to do. It’ll take years to recall the regional governors, and then have local legislative offices reformed and organized enough to send senators here.”

Her fists bunch up in frustration, “I should have started on this earlier; contacting old Republic senators to put together committees on how to fix this –”

“You’re not cleaning up all of the Empire’s mess, not by yourself. That’s what you’ve got us for,” say Han as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. Luke doesn’t need to say anything. Together, they are unstoppable.

Ahsoka used to be part of something like that. She is again.

The Temple beckons. The silent three want them to, more than the living.

The dead shouldn’t push, but they are her old teachers and students never stop learning.

\----------

If the senate building remains relatively unscathed, the Temple resembles nothing from memory. The towers are rubble; scorch marks and graffiti mar stone. Its unsightliness served as a reminder to those who would oppose Sidious.

Had circumstances been different, had she not run to confront Vader, this would have been her fate. Lucky survival became her game.

The Force still hangs pleasantly around it, enveloping them like a blanket. Sidious couldn’t dismantle everything.

Ahsoka separates herself from the others. Now she is here, she needs to see it all, to remember it wasn’t some distant dream. She climbs what remains of the eastern stairs, each step sustaining her growing courage.

The abandoned halls do not feel hollow as the senate’s. She is overwhelmed by the multitude of presences. She hasn’t felt this Force this strongly in years.

Her courage falters.

“What do you want?!” she calls out, in anger that makes her feel like a child again.

“To teach,” says Yoda.

“To rebuild,” says Obi-Wan.

“To make it better,” says Anakin.

Yoda doesn’t look like he aged a day; Obi-Wan looks as if he aged a hundred thousand. Anakin would look old, but for the heavy scarring obscuring his features. She cannot match him for height, but she can look him in the eye.

“I signed up for a life of service, and I screwed up badly, Snips.”

“Understatement, Sky Guy.”

She’s forgiven him, but he needs to tell her for himself. Even the dead have guilt.

“Not that the Council was completely blameless,” says Obi-Wan. He’s as blunt as Ahsoka’s ever heard. Yoda says nothing, but in his silence is agreement.

The Council confronted its fear of failure and the Temple’s foundations still stand.

“You and the kids will bring it back, but you’ll fix it, you’ll make it right.” He speaks with such certainty, she has to believe him.

“The first master of the new Order, you are. On the way to greatness, Luke is; Leia, not far behind.”

“My training was never finished – I can’t be a master!”

“Your training was unconventional, but it will serve,” says Obi-Wan.

“You’ll be great, Master Tano. You’ve made it this far, and who needs _all_ the rules? Luke and Leia don’t have a problem with overthrowing governments.”

Obi-Wan snorts and Yoda harrumphs disapprovingly. Some things never change.

Ahsoka laughs; she realizes there are tears in her eyes. This will require more courage than she’s ever needed. Their faith in her means everything.

“Thank you,” she whispers. She wants to reach out to them; they simply smile benevolently.

Anakin finishes, as an afterthought, “And keep an eye on Solo. He’s a crazy flier.”

She says, “Tell me about it,” but his attention is diverted. Shadows are cast from behind her; they finally came looking for her.

Scars and stitches contort into ugly shapes, but Anakin is smiling even brighter.

Ahsoka looks at the shapes backlit by the sun.

“Thought you might want some company,” says Han.

She turns back around to indicate the old Masters, at least visible to Luke and Leia.

They are gone.

Peace will come easier. For now, there is work.

**Author's Note:**

> See author bio for discussion on this 'verse.


End file.
